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Chapter 182: Chapter 182: Is It Any of Your Business?

Since she didn’t speak, Flora Fairfax spoke for her.

”Pretty ridiculous, isn’t it.”

Lynn Winslow hesitated before nodding in agreement. With a wail, Chloe Clayton tackled Lynn Winslow onto the sofa.

”How could you two do this to me? Can’t you just help me figure something out?”

”What are we supposed to do? Sneak you out from right under your brother’s nose?” Lynn Winslow’s lips curved. ”Or hey, why don’t you just use one of our phones to call him?”

”...” Chloe Clayton said helplessly, ”Has your phone had any signal since you stepped foot in the Clayton house?”

Lynn Winslow froze, then glanced at her phone. The message she’d tried to send earlier was still trying to go through.

”Your brother... impressive,” Lynn Winslow praised sincerely.

Flora Fairfax said, ”Just give us his contact information. We can call him for you after we leave the Clayton estate, right?”

Chloe Clayton sat up, releasing Lynn Winslow. She blinked innocently. ”But I don’t want him to know my brother is keeping us apart. He’d be heartbroken.”

Lynn Winslow and Flora Fairfax: ”...” ’She’s a lost cause.’

Lynn Winslow was done with this conversation. She stood up to leave, and when Flora Fairfax saw her going, she got up too.

Chloe Clayton blocked their way, pleading, ”Alright, fine. Just help me pass on a message. Tell him I’ll come find him in a few days. But you can’t tell him my brother locked me up. Say... say I’m at an intensive training camp. Yes, a training camp.”

Lynn Winslow rolled her eyes but agreed anyway. Flora Fairfax had already left; she’d arrived much earlier and had had enough of Chloe Clayton’s bizarre logic.

After saving the number, Lynn Winslow headed slowly down the stairs. She was only a few steps down when the voice she’d heard earlier in the parking lot called out from behind, stopping her in her tracks.

”Miss Winslow. How about a chat?”

Lynn Winslow turned around on the staircase and smiled lightly. ”No, thank you. I should be going.”

”It won’t take much of your time.” Liam Clayton descended the stairs as he spoke, stopping on the same step as Lynn Winslow. He looked down at her, his voice slow and even. ”If you’re unwilling, Miss Winslow, then we can talk as we walk.”

Lynn Winslow frowned. She didn’t appreciate being cornered, and her expression gradually turned cold.

Liam Clayton pretended not to notice. He descended one step ahead of Lynn Winslow, but his pace was slow, maintaining a constant one-step gap between them.

He said, ”Miss Winslow, are you planning to marry Mr. Sterling?”

”What’s it to you?” Lynn Winslow’s mood soured, her tone turning hostile.

”It has nothing to do with me. I’m just curious. And even if you don’t tell me, I can guess.” Reaching the ground floor, Liam Clayton stopped, blocking Lynn Winslow’s path on the stairs. He stared quietly into her eyes and said seriously, ”Mr. Sterling only has his current status because he’s attached to the Sterling family. The family’s future will ultimately be in the hands of the eldest son, while the Nortons are tied to the second son. There’s no benefit for you in being with Mr. Sterling.”

Lynn Winslow scoffed. His attempt to belittle Ian Sterling didn’t faze her in the slightest. After all, in her heart and mind, no one could ever compare to Ian Sterling.

She met Liam Clayton’s gaze without flinching, her voice cold. ”Do you think I care about the Sterling family’s status? Or do you think Ian Sterling can somehow give me, a person who already stands at the very top, some sort of ’boost’?”

Before Liam Clayton could answer, Lynn Winslow’s lips twisted into a cold sneer. ”Wrong. The only thing I care about is him. It doesn’t matter if he’s the fifth son of the Sterling family or if he’s just like the man Chloe loves. I love him, and I don’t care about his status.”

Liam Clayton didn’t understand. A look of confusion crossed his face as he tilted his head and asked, ”But why?”

He had snatched control of the Clayton family from his own uncle. To him, power was paramount—even more important than the sister he had raised. Despite his current high position, he was always looking to climb higher. So he couldn’t understand why someone already at the top would harbor such unambitious thoughts.

”There is no ’why.’ Not everyone is like you.”

Liam Clayton lowered his gaze, deep in thought. Lynn Winslow pushed past him, descended the stairs, and strode toward the exit. When she was about two meters away, she turned back and said to him, ”Oh, and by the way, regarding the Sterling family inheritance you brought up? You probably don’t know this, but even though Spencer Sterling is the current executive director for the Sterlings and Connor Sterling is for the Nortons, the five brothers’ shares are all split equally. There’s no hierarchy.”

Liam Clayton, who had been standing perfectly still, turned at her words and watched her in silence.

Lynn Winslow tossed out one last sentence before leaving, not giving him another glance.

”For Chloe’s sake, I’ll let this slide. But stay out of my sight from now on.”

Liam Clayton remained unmoved by her words. He watched Lynn Winslow’s retreating figure for a long time before finally heading upstairs to find Chloe.

Chloe was bored, lying on her bed and watching TV. They’d even cut off the internet at home, so she couldn’t stream anything and was stuck watching live broadcasts.

When she saw Liam Clayton enter, Chloe huffed and turned her face away, refusing to look at him.

With his sister, Liam Clayton was at least a little more direct. He stood at her doorway and said flatly, ”I know you wanted your friends to contact that man for you. I might as well tell you the truth. After you sent your message, I had my secretary go find him. He should be back by now.”

Chloe’s eyes flew wide with shock. She shot up and stared fiercely at Liam, her voice filled with disbelief. ”Brother! Why would you do that?”

”Chloe, the Clayton family can’t compete with the other great families in Quartos. No matter how hard I work, I can’t catch up. If you continue to be this willful, you know full well what will happen to the Clayton family’s position.”

”Brother, isn’t the Clayton family already doing great? At least... at least before, whenever I went out, the daughters of the other families would always give way to me, humor me.” Chloe shook her head in a panic, refusing to believe him.

”That’s for now. What about the future?” Liam’s expression turned cold. He was clearly angered by his sister’s lack of foresight, and his tone grew heavy. ”If I make a single misstep, the Clayton family could collapse at any time. We have no one backing us—we only have ourselves. Chloe, be rational. I won’t stop you from seeing Lynn Winslow and Flora Fairfax, but you need to figure out what you really want: a lifetime of splendor and riches, or a moment of fleeting happiness.”

Chloe staggered back a step, stunned. She bumped into the leg of a table and fell hard to the floor, her face completely blank.

Liam didn’t wait for her response. He pulled the door closed and instructed the bodyguards, ”Watch her closely.”

The bodyguards lowered their heads in acknowledgement, then stood as still as stone statues on either side of the door.

—

After leaving the Clayton estate, Lynn Winslow pulled her car over to the side of the road, a flicker of disgust crossing her face.

She had only ever heard that the head of the Clayton family was like a flower on a high peak—aloof and untouchable—a man who had single-handedly elevated his family to its current standing.

In their few previous encounters, Lynn had seen nothing to contradict the rumors. She never imagined he was capable of saying something so repulsive.

She rested her forehead against her hand, gazing quietly out the car window. The weather, which had been clear just a moment ago, had suddenly turned to rain.

Lynn Winslow’s mood soured even further.